Eye-testing cabinet



April 3, 1934. c. B. scoTT EYE TESTING CABINET Filed June 23, 1932 2 Sheetsheet 1 i April 3, 1934. c. B. 'SCOTT 1,953,268

TES`TING CABINET Filedi June 23, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Apr. 3, 1934 EYE-TESTING CAEINET Charlie B., Scott, St. Louis, Mo., assigner to M. E. reen Manufacturing Company, St. Louis County, lVio., a corporation of Missouri Application .lune 23, 1932, Serial No. 618,841

7 Claims.

lThis invention relates generally to eye-testing appliances and, more particularly, has to do with a certain new and useful improvement in cabinets for exhibiting illuminable devices, objects, symbols, or other characters or reading matter for testing or enabling a diagnosis of the condition of the eyes.

My present invention has for its chief object the provision of an eye-testing cabinet of the type 1Q stated equipped and constructed for conveniently,

readily, and easily varying or changing for eyetesting or condition-diagnosing purposes the display of the illuminable symbols or other characters.

And with the above and other objects in view, my invention resides in the novel features of form, construction, arrangement, and combination of parts hereinafter described and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of an eyetesting cabinet embodying my present invention;

Figure 2 is a transverse sectional view taken approximately along the line 2 2, Figure l, looking upwardly in the direction'of the arrows;

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmental elevational View of the cabinet;

Figure 4 is an enlarged transverse sectional view of the cabinet taken approximately along the line 4 4, Figure 3, looking downwardly in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmental side elevational view of the cabinet; and

Figure 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of the T cabinet taken approximately along the line 6 6,

Figure 1.

Referring now more in detail and by reference characters to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate a preferred embodiment of my invenl tion, the cabinet A comprises a preferably rectangular-oblong shell or casing having a rear wall 1, spaced side walls 2, a top wall 3, and a bottom wall 4, all constructed of wood or other suitable material and suitably fixed rigidly and permanently together. Y

Cabinet A is divided vertically or lengthwise, about the middle thereof, by a partition 5 and is further subdivided by suitably spaced transverse or horizontal partitions 6 to include two vertical tiers or series of separate compartments r1. Preferably, the central partition 5 is composed of wood or of the same material of which the cabinet-walls are constructed; however, the cross partitions 6 are preferably composed of relatively light weight pliable insulation material, such as,

for instance, sheet asbestos fabric, compressed fibrous board, or the like, suitably secured in position. And while as best seen in Figure 6, the compartments 7 of one series are preferably of any suitable uniform dimension, the compartments 7 of the other series, for purposes presently appearing, are of various dimensions.

Interposed between the several partitions 6 and forming reflecting rear walls of the respective compartments 7, are sections 8 of preferably similar material to that of the partitions 6, each sheet or section 8 being curved or arcuate transversely of the cabinet, as shown, and in each of the. compartments 7, is placed an illuminating electric lamp bulb 9, the supporting sockets 16 of which are mounted on the central partition 5 and wired and adapted for connection to a suitable source of electrical supply in any usual or suitable manner, a standard connecting cord 11 being shown, Figure l, conventionally at the upper end of the cabinet, while another cord 12 at the lower end of the cabinet in practice leads to a device, not shown, but obviously located at a convenient place preferably somewhat remote from the cabinet, for controlling the lighting of the 'several lamps 9. v At their respective front margins, the cabinet side and lend walls 2, 3, and 4, are rabbeted, as at 13, as shown, and snugly tted in the cabinetshell on the seat so provided, is a front wall B, presently fully described, iiatwise interposed between which and the seat 13, is a front wall protecting preferably asbestos or other suitable preferably insulation sheet or section 14 variously apertured, as shown, in selected registration or semi or partial registration with the several respective compartments 7. Preferably the front wall B is removably retained in place by suitable clips l5v conveniently mounted on the cabinet end walls, that is to say, the top and bottom walls 3, 4, the clips 15 being readily movable out of securing or engaging relation with the wall B by loosening their clamping nuts 16.

The wall B comprises a main or front rigid transparent plate 17 of glass or other substance of likecharacter, adhesively fixed iiatwise to and upon the outer face of which is a covering 18 of opaque fabric or other suitable non-transparent material having apertures or cut-outs, as at 19, for respective registration with the several apertures in the left-hand portion of the sheetsection 14.

Surrounding the plate 17 and embracing the margin of the covering 18, is a preferably metallic frame 20, the side and end members of whichV are of U-shape in section, and centrally on the rear face of the plate 17 with their respective opposite ends embraced by and soldered or otherwise fixed to the end or cross-members of the frame 20, are longitudinally extending metallic strips 21 also of U-shape in section, the strips 21 being disposed back-to-back with their anges or legs presented outwardly in opposed relation to the legs of the longitudinal members of the frame 20. The strips 21 thus divide the crossmembers of the frame 20 and co-operate with the frame 20 in the formation upon the rear face of the main plate 17 of a sub-frame 22 and a slideway 23.

Fixed within the sub-frame 22 and disposed flatwise with relation to the rmain-plate 17, is a rigid glass or zother transparent panel 24, and flatwise interposed and securely retained between the plate 17 and panel 24 is a sheet 25 vof light penetrable or translucent material, preferably parchment paper, on the front or outer face of which is printed or otherwise marked any suitable objects, symbols, or other characters or reading matter generally used in testing or diagnosing the condition of the eyes, the respective fields of visual display thereof being co-incident with the apertures 19 of the covering 18 disposed for illumination in registration, as described, with the several cut-outs of the sheet 14 over the various left-.hand compartments 7 of the cabinet.

In the present instance, the xed characters or symbols of such portion of the cabinet front wall are, as shown, of dierent size, form, and arrangement for correspondingly enabling different respective eye-tests.

. Longitudinally shiftable in the slideway 23 and over the other or right-hand series of compartments 7, reference being made to Figure 1, is a panel C comprising, in like manner, flatwise disposed registering rigid glass or 4other transparent plates 26, 26, with an interposed parchment section 27, retained or secured together by an enclosing or surrounding frame 28. The parchment section 27 is provided upon its front or outer face with a plurality of suitably spaced transverse rows of characters, symbols, lor other eye-testing indicia for selective visual exposure through the cut-outs or apertures 29 of the covering-member 18 as the slide or panel C is longitudinally shifted relatively thereto by means which I shall now describe. n

Rigidly mounted in suitable location on the 'cabinet bottom-wall 4, is an angle-bracket 30, and pivoted thereupon intermediate its ends, vas at 31, is an oscillatory or swingable lever 32 longitudinally equipped with an operating extension or Ahandle 33 projecting outwardly of the cabinet A through a slot 34 provided for the purpose in the adjacent cabinet side-wall 2. Fixed on the cuter face of said cabinet-wall 2 and slotted in registration with the slot 34, is a plate 35 provided upon its forward margin with a lateral flange 36 whose outer margin is preferably ccncentric with the pivot 31 and upon whose forward face is a scale, as shown, for designating the shifted or selected position of the slide C.

At its inner end, the lever 32 is transversely apertured, and fixed upon the lever 32 adjacent its inner end, is what may be designated a stirrupbracket 37 apertured in registration with the lever-aperture. Mounted for movement in said registering apertures, is a pin 38, iixed upon which intermediate the lever 32 and bracket 37, is a movement-limiting collar 39, and coiled on the pin 38 intermediate the collar 39 and the bracket 37, -is a spring 40 Vfor yieldingly retaining the pin in forwardly projected position, the section 14 having an arcuate slot, as at 41, for accommodating lever-swung movement of the pin 38.

In use and operation, the cabinet A is supported in upright position upon a wall or other place of support, the side -or panel C being in its lowermost or normal position and the pin 38 being disposed intermediate the lower end of the slide C and the cabinet end-wall 4.

The cabinet is, of course, suitably electrically connected with a source of electrical energy for selective illumination of the various compartments 7, all preferably as more fully described in Letters Patent No. 1,749,612, of March 4, 1930. With the slide lC and pin 38 in such normal position, the lever-handle 33 will register with the position-designating numeral 1 of the scale, as best seen in Figure 1, certain of the rows of characters or symbols carried by the slide C being then visually exposed through respective coverapertures 29. Now, as the lever-handle 33 is suitably, either manually or mechanically pivotally shifted downwardly, the slide C will be raised or shifted upwardly in the slide-way 23 and a second set of characters or symbols will be Visually exposed at the cut-outs 29. In such manner, as the slide C is shifted on movement of lever 32 into scale positions 3 or 4, other rows of characters or symbols carried by the slide C will be correspondingly selectively visually exposed for eye-testing purposes through the opaque-covering sight-openings 29.

Thus, in a simple, convenient, and eflicient manner, some of the test characters or symbols of the cabinet may be readily changed or varied by the doctor or optician for facilitating testing or diagnosing the condition` of the eyes. Of course, as the lever 32 is reversely operated, the slide C will correspondingly move downwardly under the pull of gravity, and in like movement, on such reverse movement, the characters or symbols exposed to view at the apertures 29 will be similarly varied or changed.

Fixed atwise at an end upon the lever-handle 33 and slidably engaging a wall of the slot in the plate 34, is a yielding flat-spring member 42 for frictionally retaining the lever 32 in a shifted or selected position; and attached at one end to the lever 32 and at its opposite end to the adjacent cabinet side wall 2, is a coiled spring 43 for yieldingly augmenting the frictional engagement between the spring 42 and plate 34 in retaining the slide C, against the pull of gravity, in its respective elevated or raised positions.

I may add that the slide-engaging pin 38 is free to lengthwise yieldingly shift relatively to the slide C so as to give and snap into operative position after a removal and on replacement of the front B, thereby obviating breakage, and facilitating assembly of parts, and it is to be understood that changes in the form, construction, arrangement, and combination of the several parts of the cabinet may be made and substituted for those herein shown and described without departing from the nature and principle of my invention,

Having thus vdescribed my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is,-

1. An eye-testing cabinet comprising a box-like shell, a shell front-wall having a sight opening, a slideway upon the rear face of said wall in operative relation to said opening, a panel mounted for movement in the slideway and provided with a plurality of test characters, and means including a lever mounted `for oscillation on the cabinet for shifting the panel for selectively registering its carried characters with said opening.

2. An eye-testing cabinet comprising a boxlike shell, a shell iront-Wall having a sight opening, a slideway upon the rear face of said Wall in operative relation to said opening, a panel mounted for movement in the slideway and provided with a plurality or" test characters, a lever mounted for oscillation on the cabinet and having engagement with the panel for shifting the same for selectively registering its carried characters with said opening, and means for yieldingly retaining the lever in selected shifted position.

3. An eye-testing cabinet comprising a boxlike shell having a slotted side Wall, a shell front- Wall having a sight opening, a slideway upon the rear face of said Wall in operative relation to said opening, a panel mounted for movement in the slideway and provided with a plurality of test characters, a lever mounted for oscillation upon the cabinet and having engagement With the panel for shifting the panel for selectively registering its carried characters with said opening, the lever having a handle-extension Working in said slot, and means including a flat spring on the lever-handle for engagement with a wall of the slide for yieldingly retaining the lever in selected shifted position.

4. An eye-testing cabinet comprising a boxlike shell, a shell front-Wall having a sight opening, a slidevfay upon the rear face of said wall in operative relation to said opening, a panel mounted for movement in the slideway and provided vvith a plurality of test characters, means including a lever mounted for oscillation on the cabinet for shifting the panel in one direction for registering its carried characters With said opening, the panel being gravitationally movable in the other direction, and means for yieldingly retaining the panel in shifted position against gravity pull.

5. An eye-testing cabinet comprising a boxlike shell, a shell front-Wall having a sight opening, a slideway upon the rear face of said Wall in operative relation to said opening, a panel mounted for movement in the slideway and provided With a plurality of test characters, means including a lever mounted for oscillation on the cabinet for shifting the panel in one direction for registering its carried characters with said opening, the panel being gravitationally movable in the other direction, and a coiled spring attached to the lever and to the cabinet for yieldingly retaining the panel in shifted position against gravity pull.

6. An eye-testing cabinet front-Wall including a main transparent plate, an opaque covering xed iiatwise upon the front face of said plate and provided with sight openings disposed in tiers, a frame surrounding the plate and marginally engaging the covering, a pair of parallel strips disposed longitudinally upon the rear face of said plate and xed to said frame, said strips (ro-operating with said frame in the formation of a sub-frame and a slideway, a charactercarrying member disposed in the sub-frame in 100 fixed relation to one of said tiers of openings, and a character-carrying panel disposed for movenient in the siideway for selective registration of its carried characters with the openings of the other tier.

7. An eye-testing cabinet comprising a shell having side and end Walls, a front Wall removably ntted with relation to said side and end Walls, said front Wall having a sight opening, a slideway upon the rear face of said wall, a character- 110 carrying panel disposed or movement in the slidevvay for selective registration of its carried characters with said sight opening, a lever pivoted upon a wall or the cabinet, and a pin yieldingly mounted on the lever for Yshifting engage- 115 ment with the panel.

CHARLIE B. SCOTT. 

